title: Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma is not associated with interleukin-18 promoter gene polymorphisms: a case-control study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the association of two functional single nucleotide polymorphisms in the promoter region of the interleukin-18 gene, at positions -607 and -137, with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
  
  
  METHODS
  Genomic deoxyribonucleic acid was extracted, by the salting-out method, from peripheral blood leukocytes. Single nucleotide polymorphisms of the interleukin-18 gene at positions -607 (cytosine/adenine) and -137 (guanine/cytosine) were analysed by sequence-specific polymerase chain reaction.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred and eleven patients (86 men and 25 women; mean age 56.7+/-13.7 years) and 212 regional controls (165 men and 47 women; mean age 53.3+/-12.2 years) were studied. Control subjects comprised healthy volunteers or cancer-free individuals presenting with otolaryngological disease. The diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma was confirmed histopathologically. Various clinical parameters were collected at diagnosis, including tumour site, tumour size, lymph node involvement, distant metastasis and stage.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was no significant association between the allele, genotype or haplotype frequencies of the two single nucleotide polymorphisms of the interleukin-18 promoter and the head and neck squamous cell carcinoma susceptibility or clinical parameters at diagnosis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Interleukin-18 polymorphisms at positions -607 and -137 did not confer susceptibility to head and neck squamous cell carcinoma in southern Iranian patients.
authors.affiliation: Division of ENT, Namazee Hospital, Iran.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Asefi
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Mojtahedi
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Khademi
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Naeimi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ghaderi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000483:Alleles; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000235:genetics*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D005838:Genotype; D006239:Haplotypes; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D020382:Interleukin-18 / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D020382:Interleukin-18